Ashlyn's Outfit of the Day!

Becky and I are starting a new segment on our blog, "Ashlyn's Outfit of the Day!" I don't know where she comes up with some of her outfits. They're crazy! She reminds me of Punky Brewster. Today she came down wearing this.


She's wearing ballet shoes with shin guards!!! Man, I couldn't help but laugh. Ashlyn is one of the strangest kids I know, but I love her, and I'm so glad she's in our family.

Las Vegas Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful break going to Las Vegas for Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, Jeff and I spent a couple day getting dental work done (thanks to bro-in-law Bryson). We did however, find time to do several fun things. Grandma and Grandpa Cooper took our family to this place called Magical Forest. The kids had fun on the carousal, train rides, slide rides and sitting on Santa's lap.

We visited the Natural History museum with the cousins and Grandma. Reese couldn't stop growling that day, tyring to sound like the dinosaurs.

Thanksgiving was wonderful. What can be better than good company and good food?

It is nearly impossible to get 13 kids smiling and looking in the same direction. That's what we try to do every year for Grandma and Grandpa Coopers Christmas card. The best part about this picture is our baby Jesus. It was a singing Christmas Tree we put there in place of baby Ruthie to try and capture the kids attention.

It's Autumn time...

I started on this post a couple of weeks ago and didn't get too far. I know I just need to get

something up. Fall has been busy for us. Max had his birthday party. It was Halloween themed and the kids had a ball. We had a crazy full house. About 15 boys came. The boys had such a good time. Their favorite game was the mummy wrap. The kids loved playing and throwing the t.p. around once the game was over.

Our annual pumpkin patch outing. The kids love picking their pumpkins right off the vine. The patch also has a hay maze, farm animals and a hay ride.

I caught my kids one day out front raking leaves. They said they were trying to make a leaf pile to play in like Grandma and Grandpa Rowe's. Look at the small pile they were able to rake from our two small trees. I had to laugh when I saw Max raking leaves in the tree. It reminded me of a blond joke my brother Spencer once told me.

How did the blond get hurt raking leaves?.....She fell out of the tree. NO offense to blonde's (I've been one before) just a funny joke.

I was in charge of making fall centerpieces for our teachers dinner at Parent teacher conferences. I had seen this idea before but didn't know how it would turn out. I put an assortment of mums inside a carved pumpkin. I was pleased with the final product.

MaxPreps.com Football Coverage...playoff action

http://www.maxpreps.com/events/bk/bk_at_the_game.aspx?channelid=fdb53829-3227-4936-bded-81e9b2c082bb&newchannel=true

MaxPreps.com Football Coverage...it's playoff time

http://www.maxpreps.com/events/bk/bk_at_the_game.aspx?channelid=fdb53829-3227-4936-bded-81e9b2c082bb&newchannel=true

MaxPreps.com HS football video

http://www.maxpreps.com/events/bk/bk_at_the_game.aspx?channelid=fdb53829-3227-4936-bded-81e9b2c082bb&newchannel=true

Tooth Fairy Crush

Okay, so Lexi lost a tooth yesterday.  She put her tooth under her pillow with a note.  I was a little worried that Ms. tooth fairy would forget because she often does.  So when I woke up this morning to wake up Lexi for school my stomach dropped when I saw her look under her pillow.  She got a smile on her face and took out her note that she had written.  I guess Mr. tooth fairy did not forget to leave money.  To my surpise he left a note in response to hers.  Here is how the notes went:

Alexis: Dear Tooth Fairy, this is a tooth I drew

 (this is written inside of a tooth she drew, LOL) 

I hope you like the tooth.  Love, Alexis

Above this she wrote: One more thing I hope I get a dollar.

P.S. It doesn't really matter if I get a dollar.

Mr Tooth Fairy: Thank you for the tooth! It's a nice looking tooth.

  Good luck with the rest of your teeth.  Love, Tooth Fairy.

P.S. Enjoy the dollar.  You have beautiful teeth!

When I read it I couldn't help but laugh at both of them.  I love my little Lexi and I think I am developing a crush on Mr. Tooth Fairy.  Don't tell Jeff......

Week 9 High School Football Highlights for MaxPreps.com

http://www.maxpreps.com/FanPages/maxprepstv.mxp/videoid-96135115-8591-4db4-b175-e99d1f327e34

Week 8 High School Football Highlights for MaxPreps.com...

http://www.maxpreps.com/FanPages/maxprepstv.mxp/videoid-fa243d26-9bf8-4a96-9ea0-e8d774998892

Week 7 High School Football Highlights for MaxPreps.com...

I covered two games this week. It was a wild and fun weekend!

Rockhurst, MO vs Minnetonka, MN
http://www.maxpreps.com/FanPages/maxprepstv.mxp/videoid-2117c591-0e03-4021-a545-02098cf8771d


St. Thomas Aquinas vs. Blue Valley
http://www.maxpreps.com/FanPages/maxprepstv.mxp/videoid-35228cb3-32a1-44c3-9765-ef338c4a6425

I'm Jeff Cooper.....

Okay, I'm not Jeff Cooper but, that is what I am hearing right now over and over again. I wanted to update our blog tonight but, Jeff is editing his latest Football video on the Mac where my pics are. I'm not letting that stop me. I have his laptop. Eveytime I go to blog, something distracts me or I come up with an excuse why I am too busy.

I am trying to keep Jeff company tonight since he has two nights in a row he has to cover football this week. This football thing has been a great opportunity for him. It's what he has always wanted to do! He is loving it. It has been a sacrifice of our time but, hopefully it pays off. Anyways a quick "Jeff" story.

Ashlyn was getting out of our car this week and I asked her to get Reeses drink that was on the floor of our car. I could see it behind her foot. She pretended she couldn't see it. She's like "I don't know what your talking about". I was holding Reese, she was crying and I just wanted to get inside. I got impatient with Ashlyn and she was like, "Sorry mommy, I was just trying to be a jokester like daddy". Funny that she actually said that because, Jeff and I have noticed that she does take after him. She has such a comedic personality. I didn't realize she was actually TRYING to be like Jeff (this could get scary)!!

Week 6 High School Football Highlights for MaxPreps.com and shamless promotion of my kids...

OK, I show a lot of Lexi Lou, Mad Max, Ash and Reesie in this video. I sort of feel bad, but not really. I love my kids.

http://www.maxpreps.com/events/bk/bk_at_the_game.aspx?channelid=fdb53829-3227-4936-bded-81e9b2c082bb&newchannel=true

Week 5 High School Football Highlights for MaxPreps.com...

Look, I really want to post something, but I'm exhausted. My wife wants more money, so I have to work several jobs!

http://www.maxpreps.com/FanPages/maxprepstv.mxp/videoid-2c04f0b5-6b80-4eca-8769-bbf6dc2b020d

Week 4 High School Football Highlights for MaxPreps.com...

OK, here's week 4 of my sideline reporting for MaxPreps.com.

http://www.maxpreps.com/FanPages/maxprepstv.mxp/videoid-6967bb60-37c0-4ac0-9eb5-436454b4877e

Catching up on laundry....again

So, I guess Jeff is using this as his new forum to post his sport videos. Don't you think it should be a requirement that he writes an entry each time? I do. Take our poll and let me know what you think.

Well, the kids have started school. I missed out on first day of school pics because things were so hectic but, I managed picture day pics (that works right?).

I did get Ashlyns first day of preschool picture with her teacher Mrs (Ms) Dutcher.

It has been kind of nice to just have Ashlyn and Reese during the days. I like the time we get to spend together. In a way it has made things a little more difficult because, Ashlyn thinks she never has anyone to play with. She is used to having Lexi and Max around to play with. She has decided to make do with Reese and is teaching her how to play and do all kinds of things.

Funny story about an outing I had with Ashlyn. We were at Walgreens sitting in a chair, waiting for a prescription. Ashlyn nudges me and says loudly, "Mom look at that old guy". I respond, "Shhh, that's rude to say out loud". Ashlyn then says, "You should go talk to him". I was like, "why?". She responds, "because he might be rich". I busted up and had no idea where she got that from. I know she has no clue about Anna Nicole Smith and I promise I did not mary Jeff for his money! Later, I told Jeff the story and we asked Ashlyn why she cared if he was Rich. She explained that she was wondering because, she wondered if we should buy food to give to him. I was relieved to know that she has a tender heart and not a gold digging mind!

Reese has been up to the same antics as always. Climbing into anything and everything........

eating anything and everything.....


.......and WALKING (pic to come)! Finally, 15mos and counting. Beginning to think it wouldn't happen!

One of the most exciting things happened last week! We got a grocery store that is down the street. So exciting in fact, we made opening day a family affair. The night included free water, cookies, a loaf of bread and meeting the Chiefs mascot! I know, pretty lame that we were that excited about it. Fun, fun, fun !!

Week 3 High School Football Highlights for MaxPreps.com...

OK, here's week 3 of my sideline reporting for MaxPreps.com.

http://www.maxpreps.com/FanPages/maxprepstv.mxp/videoid-fb95f2ac-e10f-4eb9-ad4c-9123866cb57d

Week 2 High School Football Highlights for MaxPreps.com...

OK, here's week 2 of my sideline reporting for MaxPreps.com.

http://www.maxpreps.com/FanPages/maxprepstv.mxp/videoid-341f0332-b6fc-46e9-941e-8a55aa3d4250

For MaxPreps.com...I'm Jeff Cooper. Jiffy Boy covers his first football game!

Well, here it is... my first sports package in 7 years. It's pretty bad. I promise it will get better. For those of you who don't know, I'm covering High School football this year for MaxPreps.com. MaxPreps.com is an online resource for HS sports. So, here it is... "At the Game" presented by Burger King.

http://www.maxpreps.com/FanPages/maxprepstv.mxp/videoid-74c65722-a930-45c1-a6fa-adafc32e7f8c

The girls also wanted me to post this video of them dancing. They definitely have that Vegas blood in them...

MISS.ISS.IPP.I

We had our annual Biloxi Mississippi trip with the Cooper Family. It is always such a relaxing trip. We fly in to New Orleans and then drive down to Biloxi. It is a full day of traveling but the kids did fairly well considering. We had the best entertainment flying into New Orleans. Check this out, our own Elvis impersonator who doubles as a flight attendant. He actually does the Elvis thing in Vegas.

The kids were so excited when they got into what we thought was a shuttle to drive down to Biloxi. It was a decked out limo bus with a bathroom and everything. The kids thought it was the coolest thing ever.


Our first day we went boating to a little lake area where the kids loved playing and taking turns tubing. As you can see Reese loved chillin' in her vest (and no, that is not me behind Reese, sorry Jeff).



Had fun the next day swimming at the pool and going to the spa. We then got the kids ready for their big UNLV picture. As you can see, it is hard to get a good pic with 13 tired and hungry kids. Here is the best one that I captured:




Ashlyn can't get enough of Justin, Annie and now baby Ruthie.



The next day was a fun filled day at the New Orleans Zoo and Aquarium. The Zoo was really cute.




We had the best dinners every night. There was so much food at every one! Jeff and I always woke up still feeling full the next morning. Here is the crew at dinner the last evening (some family members had to leave early so are not in the pic).



The highlight of the trip was pulling up in our ride to church. The faces of the missionaries and members who saw us pulling up in our casino shuttle is more than words can say. I think we all walked into church laughing. Talk about an oxymoron.


Thanks Grandpa and Grandma Cooper for a fun and memorable trip!

Blogging is like laundry........

it piles up. I put both off until there is so much to do it takes me all day (laundry), or all night (blogging). So, what have we been up to this summer? I have a camera full of pictures. Once again, due to my procrastination, I will post pics and some captions. Here goes.....


Max played baseball this summer and loved it. Jeff enjoyed helping coach the team. Alexis was on the Lenexa swim team. She is a good little swimmer and got first place in backstroke at a couple of the meets.



We took a weekend getaway at our friends (the Klusmans) parents cabin. We got to play with the Klusmans, Bishops and Evans families. The kids had so much fun playing in the stream, petting and feeding the horses, making smores over the bonfire and catching fireflies.





4th of July!!! We kicked off the day going to the annual Lenexa 4th of July parade. Lexi was in it marching with the Lenexa swim team. The kids loved it because they got loads of candy. After, we were off to the annual Merriam 4th of July celebration where Grandpa Rowe was offering the opening prayer. Merriam and Shawnee had thousands of flags lining several streets. The flags with yellow ribbons were donated to vets. It is really neat to see. Following that we swam and BBQ'd at Grandma and Grandpa Rowes with the cousins. We went to Shawnee Mission Park that evening where the kids played and we watched the fireworks display. I love the 4th of July!!!




Deanna Rose Farmstead. We had fun hanging out with the Geddes's for a couple of weeks. The kids got to feed the animals, play in the school house and walk through Indian tepees. The best part about this awesome place is that it's free. You can't beat that!



We took the kids to Kaleidoscope. Another fabulous free activity for kids in Kansas City. It is owned and run through Hallmark. The kids get to make crafts and get to be creative. The thing the kids love the most about Kaleidoscope is they get to make a puzzle. They can draw a picture on a piece of cardboard and there is a machine that cuts it into puzzle pieces. Too Cool!



Lake Lenexa. We got a cool new park near us. It has a lake with a walking/biking trail around it. Here is the crazy sculpture that is under the damn. I think it looks like it could be a UFO landing but, very cool and abstract anyways. The kids had fun playing on the play equipment and skipping rocks.






We took the kids along with the Geddes's to a dairy farm. Jeff thought we had gone crazy wanting to drive an hour and a half to a smelly cow farm with the gas prices the way they are. Well, we all left thinking this was one of the highlights of our summer. We got to see how they get all the cows milked, make and bottle the milk and everything else you would want to know about how we get milk from a cow to the bottles on the shelf. The kids loved feeding and milking the cows. Well, at least trying to milk a cow. We got to taste strawberry, chocolate, orange and even root beer milk. The root beer milk tastes exactly like the root beer leftover after the ice cream melts from a root beer float. YUMMY!



Kit Kittredge: An American Girl. The girls got invited to go the new American Girl Doll movie with several girls in our ward. Good times!





We took the kids to High School Musical at Starlight Theatre. So fun to watch one of their favorite movies played out on stage. We were a ways back but, the binoculars were a life saver. We even got pictures with Zac Efron following the play!!



Just loved the first pic. One of our swim days with the Geddes's at the Chambers pool. The kids had fun swimming all day with friends. The second one is of the kids in the backyard. Geddes kids, Regan Evans, Derek and Peyton (cousins) and our kiddos. The kids set up a stage to perform music for us that night. The chairs are facing what the area they were performing on. They gave us all tickets and gave a marvelous performance with songs that they wrote and played the drums to.





24th of July. Seriously, how cute is this! My Grandma and Grandpa Rowe have made this cute tradition every summer. We get together with all of the cousins (there are 6 kids that live in town now, we are so lucky) and Grandma and Grandpa. We park at a church that is near a walking trail just down from a park. We walk to the park and enjoy a pioneer dinner. This year there was soup, biscuits and homemade doughnuts. My mom made cute bonnets for all of the girls and had hats for all of the boys. They even played games that pioneers played. The kids love it and look forward to this every summer!





Reese is doing so many cute things we had to post the pics of them. Reese has claimed her favorite spot in the kitchen. She loves to get in the lid drawer and throw them all out. Then she turns around and gets going on the next drawer up. So funny. She also loves to put things on her hands and crawl around. As you can see from the pics above she is getting creative at what she is using. We joke that she is getting as creative as she can crawling so she wont have to walk. She is also starting early on the piano. She wants to play just like Lexi and Max!